Yahoo has updated their 2020 NBA Mock Draft and only 1 Kentucky Wildcat is listed in the Top 30 picks.
You guessed it, Tyrese Maxey.
15. Orlando Magic: TYRESE MAXEY, Kentucky
Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-3, 198 pounds
Key Stats: 14.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 29% 3PTTaking a risk on Maxey this high in the 2020 NBA Mock Draft means betting on the fact that his 29 percent three-point shooting as a freshman has more to do with adjusting to the college level than it does his actual shooting ability. Coming through high school, Maxey had the reputation for being a big-time scorer because of his ability to make deep jumpers off the bounce and because of the way that he can finish around the rim with a variety of floaters and layups.
And while he would show flashes of being the dominant scorer Kentucky needed him to be, the Wildcats late-season surge was a direct result of Immanuel Quickley’s improvement, not Maxey finding consistency. We spent the entire season saying “just wait until Maxey finds his stroke” and he never really did. He needs to be able to make that shot because the rest of his game is somewhat limited. He’s not a natural creator, he’s wired to score more than anything else, and he certainly isn’t an elite athlete by NBA combo-guard standards, although he is a pretty good on-ball defender. He’s also a worker, and by all accounts a great kid and competitor. I think there’s a real chance his ceiling is as a second-unit scorer, but if it all comes together I can see him putting together a career on par with Lou Williams.
Read “2020 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Is James Wiseman the No. 1 overall pick?” by clicking here.
Not being ranked in the top 30 in a mock draft isn’t the worst news for Immanuel Quickley, Nick Richards or Ashton Hagans.
But with the current pandemic it might be hard to turn a lot of heads of NBA teams because the lack of a NBA Combine.
The new date for the NBA Draft Lottery is Aug. 25th and the NBA Draft is now set for Oct. 15th.
Maybe the extended time will give them chances to make their way up teams’ draft boards.
